Starting device for internal-combustion motors.



. L. A. GASG APPLICATION FILED JUNSZB, 1912.

2 sHBETs sHBBT 2.

5 1 9 1 n0 1 L a M d e m e t a P $TARTIN G DEVICE FOR INTERNAI -COMBUSTIGN IdUTQRS.

Application filed June as, 1912. Serial in. 705,923.

To all whom it mayconcern Be it known that I, Louis A. CASGRAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Devices for Internal-Combustion Motors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the in vention,.such'as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to starting devices for internal combustion motors, and

more particularly to devices of this character which are employed for starting automobile motors. It is desirable in startingengines of this type to employ some means ,which will enable the operator from his po- .20 sition in the seat to turn the motor over preliminary to the starting of the same under its own power. The starting devices at present employed may be divided into two classes, namely, those inwhich the prelim- 5 inary turn is imparted to the motor either mechanically or by introducing an explosivehliargeintc the cylinder, which is ignited in the usual manner, and those in which the first turn is manually imparted 3 to the crank shaft-through a suitablecontrol mechanism. The first class of devices are not certain and positive in their operation and are apt to fail when most needed, in addition to being expensive and having a more or less complicated construction, whereas the second class of devices, though comparatively inexpensive and free from complications, require so great amanual effort upon the part of, the operator when starting that they have few, if any prac tical advantages over the ordinary form of starting crank.

The object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated starting de-' vice for motors of this type which is simple in construction and which may be operated with facility to start the motor while the driver remains seated.

With this obje ct in View, one feature of the invention consists in the provision in a device of this character having a manually operated control of a one direction clutch connected to the crankshaft of the motor and connections between the controlv and clutch for multiplying the force applied to the control and for exerting an increasing Specification of Letters Patent.

- ,ferent relative therewith.

Patented Mar. to, filers.

torque upon the crank shaIt with the application of a constant force upon the con trol.

Still further features of the invention an consist in certain novel features of corn struction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of.which will be cbviousto those skilled in the art from the following description. In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention; Figure 1 is a perspective view representing an elevation of a motor embodying the sev- 7Q eral features of the invention in their preferred form; Fig. 2 is a cross section upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 3, showing the one direction clutch for operatively connecting the starting device and crankshaft of the motor; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section upon the line 33 of Fig. 2 and illustrates the clutch mechanism formingv a part of the starting device; Fig. 4 is a detail illustrating the mechanism for preventing a reverse 3G rotation of the startin device by the mo- 2,

tor; rug. 0 1s a detaiillustrating the constructioniot the driving pawls carried by 'the motor crank shaft Fi 6 is a detail illustrating the driving ratchet and cam carried thereby; Fig. 7 is a cross section showing one of the clutch mechanisms; Figs. 8 and '9 are details illustrating the mechanism for varying the leverage in difpositions; and 10 is a detail illustrating the normal positions of the cam, driving ratchet and pawls.

The illustrated. embodiment of the; invention is employed in connection with an automobile motor-of the usual type, indi-- catcd at l, and consisting of four cylinders cast en bloc and having the usual'timing devices and other appurtenances connected in the present invention, any desired number of turns may be imparted to the motor preliminary to starting under its" own power by actuating a manual control which is supported in a conveniently accessible position, enabling the motor" to be started while the operator remains in the seat. .The dash of the machine is indicated at 2 and a starting rod 5 extends through the dash and is provided with a control handle (3 which is so positioned" that it may 119 usual crank shaft 9 and a starting shaft which ordinarily carries the starting crank is 'journaled in theframe 8 of the machine pulled toward the operator when starting 10 and if the motor fires prematurely and to tates in the reverse direction the starting handle is'mere'ly pulled out. of the hand of the operator without doing other damage.

The starting shaft 7 is actuated by a drive' pulleylOconnected with the starting handlethrough a chain 11 fastened at one end to the periphery of the drive pulley and at'its' opposite end to the hub of -an idler pulley 12. The'starting rod 5 is connected to the rimiof the, idler pulley through a'fieXiblej cable 13,thusmultiplying the force applied to the pulley 101 To enable the shaft 7 to berOtated either by the drive pulley 10 of the starting device or by the usual crank 'indep'endently of one another, the drive pulley is connectedto the shaft-7 by'a one direction'clutch mechanism' The pulleylO is loosely journaled upon a sleeve 14: se cured to the shaft and is connected therewith by a spring pressed pawl 15 pivoted at 1-6 in a recessed portion of the drive pulley and-engagingwith acooperating ratchet tooth-formed in the sleeve 14, as g shown clearly in Fig. 7. order to return the starting device to its initial position afterthe handle 6 has reached'its limit of movement, a coiled spring 26 surrounds the shaft '7 and is respectively connected at its opposite ends to the frame and the drive s -pulley 10. Although the drive pulley is connected to the sleeve 1% through a pawl 15 the spring 26 serves to return the sleeve as well asthe drive pulley to its initial position. It will be obvious that no great force is required to. return these parts and the spring 18 is of suiiicient strength to retain the pawl in engagement with the cooperating ratchet tooth upon the reverse move-' 'ment of the pulley tending to throw it out.'

The starting rod 5 is guidedbya sleeve 27 secured to the dash 2 and inclosing the rod and the initial position of the handle may loe varied lengthening or shortening the cable 13 which issecured at one'end to the rim of the pulley 12 andat its opposite end to the starting rod throughfa threaded sleeve 18. 2 v

'VVhen startin engines of this type, and more particularly those having'four 'cylim ders, it is only necessary to impart one quarter ofa revolution "to the crank shaft to ignite the charge in the cylind er which is primed. The cylinder 1n which the can plosion occurs '15 on the ,compressionstroke and as the engine is rotated. the charge in this cylindergis compressed, making it necoperation is at the end of the stroke just prior to the explosion and when the starting handle is in the most inconvenient position to exert a strongpull thereon. In thepresent invention, mechanism is provided for exerting -a uniformly increasing turning torque upon the crankshaft with the applicationof a constant pull upon the starting handle. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, one complete pull of the operating handle imparts one quarter to one half a revolution to the crank shaft, which is ordinarily sufficient to explode the'charge in one of the cylinders. In orderto uniformly increase the torque which is 7 exerted upon the crank shaft, an approximately elliptical cam 20 is secured to the hub of the pulley l2 and is positioned in such a manner that as the pulley is revolved the end of the chain 11 winds about "the periphery of the cam 20. It'will be noted from an inspection of Figs. 8 and 9 than the end of the chain is secured'to the pulley at some distance from its center and that as the motor is gradually turned over, the chain winds about the cam and the point of application of the pull upon the chain ap proaches the axis of the pulley, thus shortening the moment arm and causing the constant force which is applied to the rim of the pulley to exert a uniformly increasing pull upon the chain which reaches its maXi-' mum at a time when the piston in the firing cylinder-is at the top of the compression stroke. rlfter the highest point of compression has been reached in the cylinder the cam causes the point of application of the pull to recede from the axis of the pulley, lengthening the moment arm and increasing the speed pf Qrotation of the crank shaft during thh" last portion of the turn and ust prior to firing the charge which occurs with crank shaft 9 of the motor by a one direc tion clutch mechanism which actuates the crankshaft whenthe shaft 7 1S turned in the proper direction to start-the motor and which is releasedautomatically when the crank shaft is rotated in the same directionby the motor. As stated previously, the

shaft 7 has a tsleeve 1a: secured thereon and i this sleeve 1s provided with a ratchet.

which forms the 4 driving. member of the clutch. In this typepf motor, 31 is. secured to the end of the, crank shaft 9 and this fan pullevconstitutes th r a fan pulley nieaaeo having one end passed through a hole in the pin 33 and having its opposite free end bearing upon the adjacent pawl 32. Each pawl 32 is slotted transversely where it is journaled upon the pin 33 and the end of the spring 35 which is fastened to the pin is received-in the slot. Thus the springs serve the double function of. pressing one pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel and retaining the adjacent pawl upon its. supporting pin 33. The illustrated. em-

' bodiment of the invention is applied to a four cylinder motor and the one direction clutch is provided with four .p'awls and an equal. number of coiiperating recesses formed in the ratchet 25, the recesses being positioned in such a manner that whenever the starting device is actuated the highest point of compression will come at a time when the chain ll is positioned at the properpoint upon the cam 20. This portion of the op- I eration will be clearly understood when it is explained that the ratchet is always returned to the same initial position by the ing 26 and that the crank shaft 9 and s 32 carried thereby always stop in apimately the same relation to the ratchet.

i if by any chance the pawls 32 should not enat the proper time with the cooperating recesses in the ratchet,- t-he startingdevice will serve simplyupon its first actua 2 relative position and the next actuation of the. starting device after the crank shaft is vpositioned properly will turn the motor over until the chargeis fired, thehighest point of compression coming at the proper time auto matically. i

In order to prevent a back kick of the engine being communicated to the starting device, mechanism. is provided for auto-matically disconnecting the starting device'from the crank shaft if the normal direction of rotation of the motor is reversed. The cam plate 36 is loosely journaled upon the hub of the ratchet and is cup-shaped ring 3? by a plurality of rivets 38. The ring 3'? is yieldingly connected to the ratchet 25" by a spring 40 received in an annular slot formed in the ring and having its free end engaging with the key 41 secured in the sleeve 1% and projecting into a recessed portion of the slot. The cam plate 36 is rectangular in form having straight faces and beveled or rounded corners which to bring the parts into their properrigidly secured to a v starting device isdetermined by a pawl 45 pivotally mounted upon a fixed shaft 46 and held in engagement with a ratchet tooth 4.8 formed in'the periphery of the ring 87 by a spring i7. When a charge in one of the cyl-' teeth and causing thecam and ratchet to assume the relative position shown in Fig. 10'. Thus with the present construction, the starting device is automatically disconnected from the crank shaft when thedirection of rotation of the latter is reversed without breaking or otherwise injuring the starting device.

Although at the normal speed of rotation of the crank shaft the pawls are held-out of engagement with the periphery of. the ratchet owing to the action of centrifugal force, yet at a low speed this force may not be suilicient to retain the pawls entirely out of engagement; To this end the ratchet 25 and cam 36 are normally positioned so that a substantially unbroken cylindricalsurface is presented. to the pawls when the starting device'is in its normal position. It will be noted that when the starting handle 6 is released, the spring :26 rotates the pulley l0 and sleeve 14: counter to the direction of the arrow, l1 and through the spring d0 the member 37 is rotated in a like direction. When the pawl 4:5 engages with the cociperating tooth 4-8, rotation of the member 37 and cam 36 is stopped and as the spring 26 is of greater strength than the spring -0, the rotation of the sleeve l-l continues until the end of the spring i0 engages with the side of the recessed portion of the slot opposite to that shown in Fig. l, in which position the parts are normally retained. This position of the member 37 and ratchet 2-5 is that shown in Fig. 1.0, in which the beveled corners of the cam 36 are positioned opposite each of the recesses in the driving ratchet to hold thepawls 32 out of engagement therewith. If the crank shaft is now rotated at a low speed so that the pawls are not hold entirely out of engagement with the driving 7 ratchet; the shoulders 42 will engage with the rounded corners of the cam ride thereover, and before -the shoulders have.

tially unbroken cylindrical surface without clicking or other noise which would result from "the dragging of the pawls. over the ratchet teeth.

The operation of the improved starting device-. is as follows: The operator first grasps the handle 6 and then with a constant pull moves the handle toward him in a linear direction/ The movement of :the handle serves initially. to turn the sleeve 14 and ratchet 25 without turning the cam 36, thus v bringing the parts into the position shown in Fig. at, afterwhich a further movement of the handle turns the sleeve 14, ratchet 25 and cam 36 as one.- This force is multiplied through the idler pulleyl2 and exerts a turning torque upon the crank shaft through the drive pulley l0 and one. directio'nclutch,

\ connecting the drive pulley with the crank the charge is fired. W hen the explosion ocshaft, this turning torque constantly in. creasing as the pull upon the handle continues, until the highest point of compression is reached, when the explosion occurs, after which the torque decreasesa'nd the speed of rotation of the crank shaft increases until curs, the crank shaftrotates in the same di rection at a much higher speed-and the'pawls 32 are automatically thrown out of engage ment with the ratchet owing to the action of I centrifugal force, the springs3-5 being only of sufficient strength to press the pawls in wardly when the parts are at rest or rotating at a low speed. With'this construction,-

after the motor is started, the fpa'wls are held entirely out of engagement with the ratchet, avoiding the ensuing noise andwearwhich 4 would result ifthe pawls were caused to drag'over the teeth of the ratchet. 'If the. charge is fired prematurely when starting.

I and the motor is caused to rotate in the op posite direction, the ring 37 is locked and the pawls are forced out by the cam 36, disengaging the starting device fromthe crank.

shaft. y- I While it isipreferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, it will beund'erstood that this construction and arrangement is not essential'except so far 'asspecified in theclaims, and may be changed or' modified. without departing from the broader features described, what cam a'nd clutch whereby the constant force applied to the control is multiplied and an lncreasing'torque is exerted upon the crank I shaft.

2. A starting device for internal .combus tion motors having, in combination, a starting handle, a one direction clutch adapted to be connected to the crank shaft of the motor,

a cam, a flexible connection between the cam and starting handle to rotate the cam as the. starting handle is actuated and wind the flexible connection about the periphery of thel'cam.

tion motors comprising a driving-ratchet, a plurality of pawls cooperating therewith, 1a cam engaging with'the pawls and freely movable in the normal direction of rotation of.

the ratchet,'and means for securing a relative rotationof the. cam and driving ratchet when the ratchet 'is turned reversely to. its

normal direction of rotation to causev the cam to remove the pawls from engagement withfthe ratchet;

tion motors comprising a driving ratchet, a

pawl engaging'therewith, a cam plate en-' 4;. A starting device for internal combus- I and clutch, and-connections. between the cam] 3. A starting device; for internal combusgaging with the pawl and arranged to disengage the pawl from the ratchet vjvhen moved relative to the ratchet, means for yieldingl connectingtne cam plate to the ratchet, and means for locking the cam plate against movement when the ratchet is 1'0 tated in one direction.

5QA starting device for internalcombus.

tion motors comprising a handle which is y conveniently accessible to the operator, a. starting shaft, a one direction clutch adapted to connect the'starting shaftand crank "shaft of the motor, a drive pulley mounted cam secured to the hub of 'the idler'pulley,

a flexiblev connection between the periphery. of the drive pulleyand the periphery of the I cam and a connection between the handle and the rim of-the idler. pulley.

6. A starting device-for internal combus-fupon the starting shaft; an idler pulley, a

tion motors comprising a driving ratchet, a;

-. plurality of pawls cooperating therewith, a cam supported adjacent to the driving ratchet and normally cooperating with thedriving ratchet 'to' present a substantiallyunbroken cylindrical surface .to the awn; when the engineis rotatmg, and-means for securing a relative movement of the cam and driving ratchet to allowthe 'pa'wls' to enter the recessesin the ratchet.

. LOUIS A. 'CASGRAIN. 1 Witnesses: i

- BURTON WV. CARY, GEORG E. STEBBINS. 1 

